Scottish business and economic performance has returned to pre-recession levels, according to a survey conducted by Bank of Scotland.

The banks latest Business Monitor survey of company turnover is reported to be the best results in seven years, with 46 per cent of the firms it surveyed reporting a rise in turnover in the three months to the end of May.

The survey findings show 36 per cent of respondents said turnover had stayed the same and 18 per cent said turnover had fallen.

It calculated from the proportion of firms reporting a fall in turnover fall subtracted from those who reporting a rise, the net balance for turnover growth was +28.

Bank of Scotland described this as a "robust rise" on the +18 score in the previous quarter and a “substantial improvement” on the -8 score recorded for the same period a year ago.

Overall expectations for the remainder of 2014 are reported to have now to levels last reported in 2007.

The report said: “This is the best result in almost seven years and returns the net balance figure to pre-recession levels of quarter three 2007.”

Bank of Scotland's quarterly postal questionnaire survey, managed by the the Fraser of Allander Institute of the University of Strathclyde, has calculated its findings from 408 responses.

The Fraser of Allander Institute said the anonymous sample is representative of the Scottish economy as a whole, with all “major business classification sectors” represented.

More than a quarter (27 per cent) of firms surveyed said exports activity had increased in this period, while 60 per cent said activity was static and 13 per cent said export activity had fallen.

The net balance for export activity was +14, up slightly on the +12 score reported both in the previous quarter and a year ago.

Expectations for future export activity dipped from the 16-year high recorded the previous quarter, with the net balance slipping from +42 per cent to +23 per cent, though higher than the +19 per cent recorded for the same quarter a year ago.

Repeat business expectations were also down on the previous quarter, from +27 per cent to +17 per cent, though again ahead of the +4 per cent recorded for the same period a year ago.

Expectations for new business were down slightly on the previous quarter – from +34 per cent to +32 per cent – but again, up on the +14 per cent recorded for the same quarter a year ago.

However, the expectation of cost increases “remain elevated”, despite having fallen back from +51 per cent the previous quarter to +46 per cent and down slightly compared with +51 per cent recorded for the same period a year ago.

The Business Monitor findings show 48 per cent of respondents expect costs to “remain static” in the next six months while 49 per cent expect costs to increase and just three per cent believe costs will fall.

“Concerns over credit availability rose slightly for production firms and fell for service firms,” the banks report states.

Adding: “Likewise concerns over credit costs rose for production firms and fell slightly for service firms.”

However, business investment is reported to be on the rise “after a long pause”, though at a net balance of +4 per cent, with 22 per cent of respondents reporting a rise in investment, 58 per cent saying investment was “static” and 20 per cent having reduced investment.